Night shift on long hours...no energy??

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Hey guys, been a while since ive posted. ...Anyways, Just curious if anyone here works 4 days a week on a night shift. I work mon-thurs, 4:50pm till around 4am, get home around 4:30am. 2 breaks one lunch. Problem is Ive noticed ive lost alot of muscle I had, and im gaining quite a bit of a buldge on the tummy. The GF doesnt mind it at all...but its my body you know! . I have no energy to want to get up early to workout, and by early I mean noon lol, and then go to work and push around 600+lb bins all damn night. The main problem is I can NOT fall asleep right when I get home. I know If I can do this, then I can make it to where I can workout before work...Or maybe I should just do It when I get off work. Im really just focusing on cutting, cardio and what not...im 178lbs, 5'7" ..and judging by the mirror im around 12%bf. I want to get down to 7% and maintain my weight within the upper 160's. My issue is having a diet to where I wont be drained at work after only 6 hours. Any advice from anyone who's been in this?? Much appreciated

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

..wow, cant believe I joined this board back in 04, seems like yesterday...just thinking aloud...don't mind me

[seriousmass]

Hey. Good question. No I would not suggest working out @ 4:30. It's not even possible, unless you have a 24 hour fitness nearby.. but anyways, what I'd suggest is prepackaging meals. Try and create healthy meals that you can easily transfer to your work. Here check out this forum on cutting diets: http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=75729

Moreover, I'd suggest getting some Melatonin and taking some @ 4:45 when you're home. It's an all natural sleep aid, that will help you get to bed easier. That way you can wake up... at lets say 1p.m. and head to the gym. Being nocturnal sucks, but it's a lifestyle. I usually only sleep 6 hours a night.. sometimes I don't sleep at all. So I can definitely relate.

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Ive tried melatonin, doesnt work for me, unfortunatley..I do know though, that weight lifting before bed is better correct?? that way when you go to sleep, your body uses the rest to rebuild the muscle tissue?? then when waking up..can do the cardio??

[Joker111086]

lifting b4 bed? lol not a fan dont kno about u but after i lift i have endless amounts of energy for a good 6 hours, then i start to drag ass. but hey thats just me

[TheJuicer]

I work a swing shift and i know what your saying. I've tryed lifting after work. It sucks. I say go home and try to sleep. wake up and take a pre-workout supplement like Amp02 it has caffeine to wake you up. Use a crockpot to make a nights chicken and potatoes. Just a thought.

[Narkissos]

I work a swing shift and i know what your saying. I've tryed lifting after work. It sucks. I say go home and try to sleep. wake up and take a pre-workout supplement like Amp02 it has caffeine to wake you up. Use a crockpot to make a nights chicken and potatoes. Just a thought.

No... Caffeine would be counter-intuitive.

His adrenals are probably shot to shit as is.

The pouch he's developing would point to insulin resistance... and this may be related to a chronic elevated cortisol level.

Caffeine on top of that would only exacerbate it IMO... particularly the feeling of tiredness.

-CNS

[Narkissos]

Hey guys, been a while since ive posted. ...Anyways, Just curious if anyone here works 4 days a week on a night shift. I work mon-thurs, 4:50pm till around 4am, get home around 4:30am. 2 breaks one lunch.

I had to work night shifts for just about 5 years...

Didn't have a lunch break per se... So i used to pop a shake (protein blend + oats/banana + lecithin) every 2-3 hours.

Anyway... to your questions:

Problem is Ive noticed ive lost alot of muscle I had, and im gaining quite a bit of a buldge on the tummy. The GF doesnt mind it at all...but its my body you know! . I have no energy to want to get up early to workout, and by early I mean noon lol, and then go to work and push around 600+lb bins all damn night. The main problem is I can NOT fall asleep right when I get home. I know If I can do this, then I can make it to where I can workout before work...Or maybe I should just do It when I get off work. Im really just focusing on cutting, cardio and what not...im 178lbs, 5'7" ..and judging by the mirror im around 12%bf. I want to get down to 7% and maintain my weight within the upper 160's. My issue is having a diet to where I wont be drained at work after only 6 hours. Any advice from anyone who's been in this?? Much appreciated

My advice?

Train before work.

Additionally, i'd suggest you do this:

Monday: weights
Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: Cardio
Friday: weights
Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: Absolute rest

You're tight for time prior to work...and you don't want to miss out your training, OR meals... so I suggest making it more feasible, by following an approach similar to what i outlined above.

If you can.. sleep in on friday to sunday... and stay away from the gym completely on sunday.

Diet-wise, I'd keep it moderate-carb from saturday-thurs...and carb-up on friday.

-CNS

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Narkissos, sounds to me you know your stuff. See, last night I tried to fall asleep after i posted this, my eyes were really tired..but i didnt end up falling asleep till after 6am. set my alarm for 1, and whatya know..its 3. The snooze buttom is my b!tch. I had planned to get up at 1 to go get all my food for the week..didnt happen. looks like im eating ham sandwhoos today......

[THE_DOME]

I work 930pm to 6am 5 days a week, its damn rough man I know how you are feeling. I have continued my progression by going home eating before bed. Then wake up and pretend its morning at 3pm

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

here's a question, I seemed to have diffuculty finding With eating fruits and veggies. I Love fresh fruits, always seem to over eat them, and I eat a shit load of Broccoli and carrots. I know fruits have a lot of sugar, I just dont know what fruits I should limit myself too, and at what meals I can include them with and with have much.I like to have atleast 1 bananna within a day, if I buy grapes ill eat have the bag in one sitting, apples, tangerines, oranges ect...could I say more. And as far as broccoli goes, Steamed fresh, about a large frying pans worth aday atleast. allright..im gonna try and sleep now, going to the studio right before work to lay a couple tracks down. Thanks guys

[FallenWyvern]

No... Caffeine would be counter-intuitive.

His adrenals are probably shot to shit as is.

The pouch he's developing would point to insulin resistance... and this may be related to a chronic elevated cortisol level.

Caffeine on top of that would only exacerbate it IMO... particularly the feeling of tiredness.

-CNS

Can he take benadryl before bed for a week to reset his adrenals?

I know it works for effedra and clen, does it work for Caffeine?

Not to hijack but I did this and it seemed to work great.

[j4ever41]

Hey guys, been a while since ive posted. ...Anyways, Just curious if anyone here works 4 days a week on a night shift. I work mon-thurs, 4:50pm till around 4am, get home around 4:30am. 2 breaks one lunch. Problem is Ive noticed ive lost alot of muscle I had, and im gaining quite a bit of a buldge on the tummy. The GF doesnt mind it at all...but its my body you know! . I have no energy to want to get up early to workout, and by early I mean noon lol, and then go to work and push around 600+lb bins all damn night. The main problem is I can NOT fall asleep right when I get home. I know If I can do this, then I can make it to where I can workout before work...Or maybe I should just do It when I get off work. Im really just focusing on cutting, cardio and what not...im 178lbs, 5'7" ..and judging by the mirror im around 12%bf. I want to get down to 7% and maintain my weight within the upper 160's. My issue is having a diet to where I wont be drained at work after only 6 hours. Any advice from anyone who's been in this?? Much appreciated

I work nights as well and i am very tired sometimes too, there is no way i try to workout while i work, i leave home about 1730 and return the following morn about 0800,so i workout on my off days only well actually i workout before i go to work some days but i am always off the night before,i workout mon,wed,fri,each bodypart once awake and it works well for me,i prepare enough food to take with me where i can eat every 3 hours.

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

so benadryl for a week could reset my adrenals? sounds interesting....now what do I do to counteract my high cortisol levels. Can I have my doctor do a blood test to check all of these things??

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Thanks again for all of your feedback...

[Rugger02]

I work 3pm - 2am (4 ten hour shifts mon - thurs just like you). two 10 minute breaks and one half hour lunch. I think I could have written every one of your posts myself because I can't get to sleep after work either.

It's like the whole day I tell myself that I'm gonna get right to bed and get up early tomorrow. And halfway through the night I actually am starting to get tired, but then I get home and I'm too fired up to be off work and I can't get to sleep till the damn sun comes up...
Therefore I sleep my whole next day away and get up like an hour before I gotta be back to work.

What I do is just kinda embrace that lifestyle/sleep schedule and plan around it. I go right from work to the gym (Hard to find the motivation after work I know) Then I do my cardio Right after lifting. I come home and have my PWO meal (8oz chix breast and a few red potatoes), then watch TV, read, or play video games for a while, then I have my last meal of the day (usually just some FF cottage cheese, some steamed veggies and some almonds) about 45 mins before bed.

I think Nark gave you some great advice. If you can follow that plan and actually stick to it, you're ahead of the game. Me, I've tried and tried to do something very similar, and my diet and workout starts slipping and I get fat LOL. I guess different strokes for different folks.

My way works for me simply because it's pretty much the only way that I can stick to the same diet and workout plan 100% of the time. I wish you luck finding the way that works for you. Stick to it!

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

I think by law, we are required to have 1 hr and 20 minutes of break and lunch, and all but 15 min is paid for. Im Extremely active at work though, and I feel the same as you man. Id get tired half way through, then get fired up after work and stay up till 7, even 8 sometimes. But I just recently changed my diet, and its working so far, have tthe eneergy to do my job, and be tired enough to go to bed now. But I am having crazy headaches...or I might just be getting sick lol. I just eat turkey/ham sandwhoos, broccoli carrots, bananna/oranges, and orange juice now. My friend eats way dirtyier than me, and he's ripped...I want to surrpass his physique hopefully

[Narkissos]

Can he take benadryl before bed for a week to reset his adrenals?

No.

I know it works for effedra and clen, does it work for Caffeine?

You're confusing receptor upregulation with the treatment of chronic exhaustion.

-CNS

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

ok then, now what can I do about cortisol levels? OTC supplements like..retain for example????

[Narkissos]

ok then, now what can I do about cortisol levels? OTC supplements like..retain for example????

B-complex vits to mediate stress... this will impact on your cortisol output.

There're mixed reviews on Phosphatidylserine ...but it could not hurt... providing that you can afford the heavy dose of 800-1200mg ED.

Good old vitamin C packs a punch as well.

DHEA in doses of 200mg ED works relatively well.

Man... i'll just hit you with a PM.

-CNS

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Appreciate it Nark... ill let you know how it goes within a week

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Just wanted to say IM already having great success with my new diet/workout/sleep problem. I can sleep as soon as I get home, wake up earlier to do my cardio and workouts , and eating good nutritional food through out my day to do m job. Im a little higher on the carbs though I need them to do my work. Just was curious though, to help with the fat loss around the abs, instead of buying some OTC supps...would clen from ARR work best....for my rat? ive ordered PCT from them before, but never experimented with clen or letro

[Emondo]

zma an hour b4 bed usually knocks me out! kratom leaf for energy!! And clen works well for me but very hard to sleep on

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Why is it hard to sleep on for you emondo?

[Narkissos]

Just wanted to say IM already having great success with my new diet/workout/sleep problem. I can sleep as soon as I get home, wake up earlier to do my cardio and workouts , and eating good nutritional food through out my day to do m job. Im a little higher on the carbs though I need them to do my work. Just was curious though, to help with the fat loss around the abs, instead of buying some OTC supps...would clen from ARR work best....for my rat? ive ordered PCT from them before, but never experimented with clen or letro

I'd leave the ergogenic out personally.

You probably have hormonal imbalances due to situation you've been in for an extended period of time.

I'd just try to get into a routine like you've been doing of late.

I'd add in ChromeMate (chromium polynicotinate) to your supplement regime to help your body utilize carbohydrates more efficiently.

Clen is garbage imo... I never touch the stuff.

-CNS

p.s. don't forget my update

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

All Right. I wont forget..Friday

[ImACrazyJewDaddy]

Narkosis, I was thinking about adding CLA as well, around 7 gram aday..thats with the Vit C, and the phosphatidilserine. Would It be of any benefit. Ive heard some people didnt like it, others swear by it?

[Narkissos]

Sending another PM your way.

-CNS